


Herr Braun Does it Again

by mandykaysfic



Category: Chalet School - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen, Mistaken Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 09:23:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1382311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandykaysfic/pseuds/mandykaysfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Evan Lorne was not what Joey expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Herr Braun Does it Again

**Author's Note:**

> Very AU timeline. 
> 
> The Tzigane band appear in _The School at the Chalet_ and _The New House at the Chalet School_ by Elinor Brent-Dyer. 
> 
> Written for 'A Ficathon walks into a bar', 2010.

The Tzigane band proved to be everything the locals told Evan Lorne and then some. He took a notepad and pencil from his satchel and tried to capture various members of the band on paper as he listened to the lively folk tunes. His fingers itched for some pastels to color the richly hued red and gold skirts and jackets of the gypsies. They made it worth coming up to the Kron Prinz Karl on his own after David had been asked to stay in Geneva for three extra days. Lorne didn't really begrudge him spending time with fellow botanists, especially ones as eminent as the speakers at the symposium they'd returned to Earth for David to attend. It was an honor David couldn't refuse when they requested Dr Parrish meet with them and Evan knew he'd see little of David in those few days. Besides, he didn't want to forfeit the reservation, or spend any further time in Geneva essentially on his own.

A flicker of jade green distracted him from the couples swinging in fast moving circles in the space in front of the band. The wearer of the bright dress was a striking young woman. Her expression was anxious as she scanned the crowds. Lorne turned the page and quickly sketched the dark hair wound in two coils on either side of her head, the wide-brimmed hat she clutched in one hand and the straight lines of her dress that emphasized her slenderness. Suddenly she smiled, and moments later was being volubly greeted by the proprietor of the hotel, who eventually calmed down enough to listen to the woman's question. Lorne watched their animated conversation with interest as he penciled in the braces straining over the rotund figure of Herr Braun. He gave into the urge to put a cheeky straw hat to finish off the man's national costume. A shadow darkened his page as he added the final feathers and he dropped his pencil as he was introduced to Fraulein Josephine Bettany, with whom he would conduct business.

“Mister Lorn,” greeted Miss Bettany, as she settled herself onto the seat to his left.

“It's Major,” he corrected.

“Oh, you're an artist as well, Major. That's wonderful. May I?” She indicated his notebook.

Lorne passed it to her. “Miss Bettany....” He hesitated, unsure how to proceed, but she paid him scant attention as she exclaimed over the sketches. 

“These are lovely. You've caught Raoul's expression exactly,” and she indicated the man beating time on a tabor. “It's wonderful. I can't draw at all. Herr Laubach actually threw me out of his art classes,” she confided, a wicked grin lighting up her mobile features. “The Tzigane come here every few months, did you know? We always look forward to their visits. You will keep these for the future, won't you. I shall make sure there will be a suitable scene.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I wasn't completely happy with the illustrator used for _Cecily Holds the Fort_. Your sketches look to be much more suitable. If you agree,” she added hurriedly as she looked up and saw Lorne's bemused expression. She withdrew a letter from her handbag and laid it on the table. “You are here from my publisher, aren't you?” she asked slowly and pointed to a name. Mister Eric Lorn. “But you said Major, not Mister.”

“Major Evan Lorne, with an 'e'. I'm with the airforce, not a publishing company,” he explained apologetically. “I'm spending some of my leave here.”

“Oh. Herr Braun,” groaned Joey. She shook her head, and then burst into peals of laughter. “He won't admit he's going deaf. I'm so sorry. You must have thought me quite odd. I thought you were here to talk about my new book. I'm an authoress,” she added proudly.

At that moment, Herr Braun hurried up to their table, excitedly waving a piece of paper. He burst out in a volley of rapid German that Evan gave up trying to follow. Joey answered him equally rapidly, eventually suggesting she and Major Lorne would appreciate some coffee. 

She showed the telegram to Evan. “Look! Mr Eric Lorn has been delayed. He will be here in two days and hopes I have not been inconvenienced. He'll miss the Tzigane. They only stay for a day.” 

Over coffee served in cups the size of small buckets, Lorne inveigled Joey into revealing the plot of her new book, despite her protestations it was a story for schoolgirls and wouldn't interest him in the slightest. He disagreed as she painted as vivid a story with her words as he did with his drawings. Anyway, he had a young cousin who would love it, he assured her. He didn't miss the wistful look she gave his drawings as she stood to leave. He scrawled his name in the corner and carefully tore out the pages, handing them to her with a bow. With a delighted smile, she promised to send him an autographed copy when the book was published. 

Many months later, a copy of _Tessa in Tyrol _, duly autographed by Josephine M. Bettany, arrived in a package for Major Lorne. It contained a brief note bemoaning the illustrations. Evan glance through the pages and shook his head. Joey may have been thrown out of her art class, but, he thought, so should the person who drew these, and he pulled a face at the wooden lines of the frontispiece that looked nothing like the lively Tzigane he'd seen.__

__END_ _


End file.
